Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

It was worse, way worse.

As soon as the rooftop guard left, we had four minutes to secure the zip-line, use it, and dispose of the evidence before the next guy showed up.

That window was starting to look really small.

While our henchmen chaperones prepared the zip-line equipment, I noticed Lucien fishing a small, circular box out of a backpack. It was made of a golden colored wood, and about the size of a tennis ball. Curved metal brackets held the ball shut, a small lock in the ominous shape of a crucifix kept the thing sealed.

I didn't like the look of it.

I liked it even less when Lucien stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"Is that the thing?" I asked.

Lucien looked over at me. Nodded. "It is."

"I thought we weren't going to use it."

"With any luck, we won't have to."

I decided not to prod any further, because doing so was kind of pointless; he was going to bring it anyway. I put it out of my mind and turned my attention toward the contraption I would be hurtling through the air at high-speeds on.

Our end of the zipline wasn't attached to the edge of the building, but to the top of the stairwell exit we had used to get up here. It had been bolted into place and looked secure enough. Looking down at the countdown timer we were using, I realized there were only three minutes until shift change.

"Time to go, huh?" I asked.

Lucien was already heading over to me with what looked like a harness in his hands. "Arms up," he said.

I stuck my arms out. He came up to me and slipped the harness on, with a cocky grin whispering "Don't get too excited."

"Wrong kind of harness," I whispered. "And they're going to hear you."

"Maybe I want them to."

"Now isn't the time for that!" I hissed. "Get your head in the game."

"You first."

Lucien turned me around and finished clipping the whole thing on. When he was done, he helped me slip a backpack on. I noticed he was wearing one too. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What do we need these for?" I asked.

"If our escape plan fails, this is our backup."

"I'm not even going to ask how these backpacks are going to help us escape."

"It's probably best that you don't. Come on, let's get ready to go." Lucien looked over at his father's men. "Two minutes," he called out.

One of the men nodded, grabbed the harpoon gun, and positioned himself on the roof of the stairwell entrance.

Lucien pulled himself up onto the small wall that circled the roof's edge. Once there, he extended a hand and helped pull me up. I could see the guy with the harpoon gun already aiming his shot. We only had one chance at this, a misfire would mean having to wait till the next shift change, and I couldn't imagine Mason being impressed to receive that update. What if he misses and hits us, though?

"I think I'm going to hate this more than the jump," I said.

"You're going to be fine. If it breaks, just phase through the building's outer walls and land inside."

"I'm pretty sure I'd kill myself trying to do that."

"It's better than landing on the top of a car in the middle of a busy street."

"Thanks, Lucien. I feel much better."

"Good. Now, concentrate," he said, and he fastened a hook and pulley looking thing to my harness.

As soon as he finished, the harpoon fired. The shot was silent, but the sound of the rope uncoiling and stretching was not. Once the harpoon struck the other building, the guy who had fired it cocked a thumb toward his colleague, who cranked a winch that tightened the droopy rope until it was taut and stiff.

"One-minute, forty-five seconds," Lucien said, as he attached my harness to the rope. "Use this brake to slow down once you've reached the other side. Go."

"I hate all of you," I said, as I took a small hop off the wall, clenching my eyes shut, and hoping for the best.

I felt the zip-line tug on my harness and suddenly I was soaring high over the ground, trying my best not to look down and holding the brake so tightly that all my knuckles had turned white. I had to admit, now that I was flying, the anxiety was gone—replaced with a rush of adrenaline I had not expected. I almost wanted to scream, but not out of fear.

I kept my mouth shut, though, and concentrated on getting across. The guard wasn't there, the rooftop was clear. As soon as I crossed the temple's threshold, I pressed on the brake, slowing myself down until I reached the end of the line.

From there, all I had to do was unhook, drop, and I had made it.

"That was amazing," I said to myself, running my shaking hands through my hair. "Holy fuck, that was amazing."

By the time I turned around and started removing my harness, Lucien was already on his way, streaming silently through the night air like a bird of prey. I stepped aside to give him enough room to land. As he reached the end of the rope, he slowed his descent, unclipping himself and falling to the floor while he was still in motion.

He came to a bit of a staggered stop, but it shaved a few seconds off his time.

"Now what?" I asked.

"This," he said, pushing a button on the harpoon to retract whatever hooks it was embedding in the wall. Once it was loose, he attached both our harnesses to the rope, tossed everything over the wall, and the guy manning the winch on the other rooftop pulled it all back.

"What about that giant hole?"

"We have to leave it and hope no one notices it until morning."

I nodded. "Alright. We should get into position."

Lucien made a move toward the rooftop access. Besides the hole in the wall, the entire rooftop was as it had been a moment ago, and we still had time to spare.

"Not bad for your first try," he said.

"I want to say I had a good teacher," I said, "But you didn't teach me anything."

"No," he said, moving up behind me, "I just fucked you…" he added, whispering.

"Okay, you need to stop that shit right now."

"Should I?" he asked, bringing his hand down to my ass. "Or should I touch you here?"

"They can see you!" I hissed.

"Not from there."

"Focus, and if we get out of here alive, we can consider doing more of that before your friends cart us back to your father's mansion."

"Deal."

I didn't have a watch on me, but I knew we had been waiting for a little while and nothing had happened yet. That ball of anxiety I was so familiar with returned to my throat. I felt it tighten and constrict—my chest quickly following. I was about to ask Lucien what we should do, when the door opened, and someone stepped out.

I couldn't get a proper look at him until he had cleared the rooftop access, but from behind, he looked a lot like the other guard who had left a few minutes ago. He didn't seem particularly alert or otherwise motivated to check the rooftop out. He just walked over to the other side of the rooftop, and stood there, as the others had before him.

"Looks like we didn't raise an alarm," I said.

"In which case, you're up," he said.

"Moment of truth…"

"Can you feel it now?"

"The Recondites magic ward? I can. It's powerful… but it only covers the door. I could phase through the back of the access… we'd fall though."

"I'm going to let you decide. Go through the ward, or brace for a fall."

"No pressure huh."

"You can do it… I believe in you."

I looked up at him. "I'm glad someone does."

Lucien gestured at the wall. "C'mon. Let's do this."

I nodded. Not wanting to immediately fall one flight of stairs after phasing through the back of the rooftop access, I decided to skirt around to the front. I had to keep the guard in my sights at all times, but he seemed more interested in his phone than what was happening around him.

I realized we only had a few seconds to make this work, so I didn't waste any time. As soon as we were near the door, I reached for Lucien's hand, and pulled him toward it. I felt the magic barrier protecting the door as I approached it, heard the almost electric humming sound it made.

I knew it would kill us if I timed this badly. There was a chance it could kill us even if I had timed it perfectly. I had to take a leap of faith, believe in my own abilities, and get Lucien to the other side of that door too.

This time, all it took was a thought, and a moment of concentration.

I drew my own magic essence through me, summoned a burst of power, and with a deep breath held in my lungs, I stepped forward. My body phased out of the material plane to become ephemera, and so did Lucien's behind me. I thought I would feel myself transition through the magic ward, but I didn't. Phasing through it and the door behind it was as easy as walking.

After we made it through to the other side, I let go of the magic that had transformed our bodies into weird spirit matter, and we both returned to the material world.

"Woah," Lucien said, running his hand across his face. "That was a rush."

"First time usually is…" I turned around and looked at the door. "And hey, we didn't die."

"Not a bad start."

"No, but we still have a way to go…"

We were standing in the stairwell now, keeping our voices low. The last time I was here, I was in an astral body, projecting through the Ether. This time, I was material, I was physical, which meant I could be seen and heard. We were going to have to do our best to stay low and stick to the plan.

But that was going to be difficult, because already I could hear voices coming from the floor below.

It sounded like it was dinnertime downstairs.

"Can you sense the crown, yet?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"I can't," said Lucien, "I don't think I will until I'm close."

"We don't know how many of these people there are, how many will be mages, and how many will be humans. This could get really dicey."

"I believe in you."

"Believe in me?"

"Yeah. You're our ticket in and out of this place."

"What do you bring to the table, then?"

He paused. "Staggering good looks… and a firm hand."

I swallowed. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

I shook my head. "You're unbelievable. Get your head in the game, we need to get down three floors, and I don't think I want to phase through all of them. I should conserve some of my energy."

Lucien nodded. "I'll go first," he said, "Stay behind me."

I wasn't about to argue. Lucien set out first, descending the first few stairs down the stairwell. The deeper we got into the building, the louder the voices grew. It sounded like there was an army down there; an army of people eating, talking, and living their lives, unaware of the two of us and our intentions.

At least, that was my hope… otherwise this infiltration was going to be short lived.